Category Archives: small business

With banks tightening the extension of credit for small businesses these days, several financing options seem to be unviable.

In such a situation, invoice factoring may be the right choice for your business. It is being regarded one of the most genuine alternatives to conventional bank funding option by several businesses.

Plus, it has a number of benefits.

Invoice factoring lets you stabilize your cash flow by converting outstanding invoices due in 30, 60 or even 90 days into immediate working capital.

Still not sure if invoice factoring is a trustworthy means of business financing?

In that case, here are five prominent benefits of invoice factoring that will help you understand why it may be right for you.

1. More Time to Focus on Business-Building Strategies

Are late payments from your clients causing you a lot of trouble?

Invoice factoring can be your savior.

The invoice financier will look after your sales ledger, freeing up your time to manage your business. This implies that you won’t have to wait for customers’ payments so that you can make yours. With invoice factoring, you can pay bills, meet payroll, and remit taxes on time without worrying about late fees or damaged credit. Moreover, the invoice financiers will also take care of the excessive paperwork.

This way you’ll get ample amount of time to focus on other business-building endeavors such as sales, marketing, and client development. Further, you can plan about taking calculated financial risks as you’ll be able to figure out the exact amount of money that will hit your account well in time.

2. Quick Access to Money and Living a Debt-Free Life

Invoice factoring makes for an appealing means of financing because it is one of the quickest and easiest processes for acquiring funds. The initial setup averages 5-10 days from receipt of the factoring application and supporting documentation. Funds on approved invoices are provided to businesses within 24-48 hours in most cases.

Comparatively, banks take a lot longer to approve loans.

Moreover, as invoice factoring is not a loan, it doesn’t add to the liabilities on your balance sheet. This implies no monthly loan payments, and a clear balance sheet.

3. Receiving Payments on Time

The invoice financier will credit check potential customers, and this will enable your business to trade with better quality clients, eventually resulting in receiving payments on time. Moreover, the financier can help you negotiate better terms with your suppliers.

4. Choose Invoices as per Your Convenience

Long term contracts, minimums, or maximums – forget these concerns with invoice factoring. You can pick and choose invoices that you want to factor without having to worry about bizarre terms and conditions.

Also, the factoring fee is quite reasonable. The cost of factoring invoices has declined drastically over the years with advances of up to 95% of the invoice value available, and fees as low as 1.5% over base rate. The fees vary by industry, volume and number of invoices, advance rates, customer creditworthiness, and the time the customers take to pay.

Additionally, factoring companies don’t demand you to spend your funds in a specific manner, which is why you can buy equipment or assets the way you intend to.

5. Strong Financials Not a Requisite

If your business has hit a few bumps in the road and you’re worried that you won’t qualify for factoring services, keep your qualms aside.

You don’t need great credit, years of experience in business, or a long strong financial history to qualify for factoring services. The factoring company looks at the strength of your customers paying on the invoices, instead of focusing only on your credit score.

Moreover, unlike traditional bank loans, factoring doesn’t require you to risk your home or other property as collateral. Factoring companies mainly focus on the credit strength of your customers.

Owing to the many benefits of invoice factoring, several companies are using this means to fund their businesses and increase profits. If structured thoughtfully, you can use factoring to boost your bottom line. There’s so much to it, from taking advantage of early payment discounts, and negotiating bulk discounts from suppliers, to increasing inventory for large orders. Moreover, applying for bank loans can be a real hassle. The aforementioned benefits make it clear that invoice factoring options are more flexible and less expensive than ever before and procuring cash is quicker through it. Not to forget, choosing this funding method will also go a long way in building a healthy relationship with your client.

With the vast array of opportunities for small businesses to succeed today, it is a necessity for them to ensure that they are taking the proper steps towards attaining their greatest potentials of success. As businesses may find it a difficult time to compete with other businesses in their particular field, there is always an opportunity with today’s online branding strategies. In order for a business to beat out their competitors, they must implement efficient and effective methods of marketing into their functional models/operations. Only by taking these necessary steps will a company have success in creating their own brand. Let’s look at small business Branding and how it relates to online factors like SEO and social media.

As today’s businesses are provided with a myriad of tools online for chances at success, it is important to note that delving into such opportunities will only be effective if the website owner acts proactively in maintaining their updating necessities on a consistent basis. For instance, a website that provides its customer base with a number of products and services will usually be required to update their database’s content every once in awhile to show their persistence and credibility as a brand.

When a business keeps their content up-to-date and in with the current trends, they are sending a message to their customer/client base that they care about them and their needs and will do everything they can to keep producing and providing similar products/services to maintain an entity as an ever-changing brand.

Social Media

Firstly, take advantage of social media when trying to promote your brand. Set up Google+, Twitter and Facebook accounts. We live in a day and age where everything and anything can be shared. Join relevant Google+ communities, tweet out to industry influencers, share your blog posts on Facebook. But most importantly, provide content that makes your business stand out from competitors. For example, create hashtags and share content outside of your brand, but still relevant to your industry. The less commercial you sound, the more willing people are to connect and follow you. Strive to be the account people want to follow and keep tabs on what others in your communities are sharing. This way you’ll not only gain a following, but connect with people and influencers in your industry. Also, don’t overlook the potential these channels have to boost employee recognition. If someone in your company receives an award, right a blog post about it and share it online. You’ll most likely find that the employee recognition ideas that can be incorporated on social channels will be a great way to increase employee buy in and overall engagement.

SEO

One of the most effective strategies of branding is search engine optimization. By incorporating SEO work into one’s web content, the website owner will be able to generate more leads towards their website(s) than ever before. As the web developer intertwines popular keywords and phrases into the site’s overall content, they will have the ability of having their link show towards the beginning of some of today’s most popular search engines. There are many reasons why this is important and vital to one’s success. As there are billions of webpages on the Internet, a business who utilizes website development for the purposes of marketing will need to ensure that their content consists of high quality material to truly grasp the attention of visitors.

However, in order for those visitors to land on the webpage(s) in the first place, they will need to be driven to the site(s) somehow. If the brand hasn’t already built itself up a name and reputation, it is very unlikely for their page(s) to even be seen as there are billions of websites on the Internet. By implementing SEO work into one’s content, the website owner will be able to take advantage of having content with special keywords and phrases that work to drive their webpage(s) towards the front of some of today’s most commonly utilized search engines. When people search for certain products and/or services, they will usually input certain words and phrases into search engine boxes to find what they are looking for. A business that combines popular keywords along with high qualities of content within their webpage(s) will moved towards the front pages of their search result “hit queries”.

Face-to-Face

Video conferencing is another essential function of a solid branding foundation. Video conferencing allows companies to communicate with their clients in a face-to-face setting without having to actually travel from one place to another. Therefore, both parties can comfortably communicate with one another on a personal level without having to leave their homes or place of business. This is a great benefit for small businesses as it brings networking and communications to a platform that cannot be found elsewhere. Any company that is striving to break through in their market should use video conferencing as a form of communication as it can boost their ratings and reputation as a proficient, reliable, and trustworthy company. Furthermore, it shows how a company strives to please their clients/customers by maintaining personal connections.

Have an experience using any of these tactics to grow your small business? Better yet, have an experience where you used a tactic that I left out? Share below in the comments.

Running a business – big or small – is incredibly tough, but it can be rewarding. Even more tough is getting all of your equipment in place, like a computer network, phone system or one of the many other tools you’ll need to operate.

One thing you absolutely need when it comes to making sales and generating leads is a reliable phone system. If you don’t have a way to contact potential customers or clients, or a way for them to reach you, then you won’t have much business. While email and online contact certainly work great, sometimes you just need to speak to a person directly to get things ironed out.

A modern phone system in today’s hyper-connected world involves using VOIP, or Voice Over IP, communication devices and software to talk to people via the Internet. This includes programs like Skype or Google Chat on the consumer side of things and services like Vonage, 8×8 or Jive for business.

Before making a commitment and setting up a VOIP phone system – or any system for that matter – it makes sense to understand a little bit about it first. In particular, you’ll need to know system requirements and limitations to ensure you get the most of your new service.

Know Your Equipment

Before choosing a system and having it installed or activated, do your research. This may seem pretty straightforward, but a lot of people skip over this step.

Compare prices and reliability when choosing a VOIP service provider. Ensure your Internet connection and bandwidth can handle your incoming and outgoing call loads. Know how many people will be working at a given time and how much equipment or hardware you’ll need to accommodate them.

Depending on how often you’re calling clients, you might want to skip that unlimited plan VOIP companies are offering, especially if you’re a small business with fewer needs. You never want to overpay for service.

Identify Bandwidth Limitations

Since VOIP services require an active Internet connection to work properly, you’ll need to be sure that you not only have a reliable connection in place, but also one that provides the proper bandwidth. You’ll need to figure out the amount of voice traffic that your system will be handling.

The reason you need to know this is because every time someone picks up a VOIP phone, it ties up a certain amount of bandwidth on your network. You’ll want to be sure there’s enough for everyone to be working at the same time. If not, you could experience call drops, shoddy connections and poor sound quality.

Establish an After-Hours System

No one works 24/7; you need some down time and so do your employees. Make absolutely sure you have an after-hours system in place that can take calls when no one is available. This could include contact information for sending an email, a voicemail system or even forwarding calls to a personal number.

If you do set up a voicemail account, be sure to offer explicit instructions for how callers can get in touch later. If that means informing them to leave their contact information and promising to call back, then do so.

A great feature to enable for a system like this is voicemail-to-email transcription, which most VOIP and business PBX systems provide. The system will automatically transcribe new voicemails that customers leave and send them to you via email or text message. No more fumbling with the voicemail system or trying to write down contact information. It’s all sent directly to you.

Activate a Call-Waiting Service

During business hours, you do not want to send potential clients or existing customers to voicemail. This could give them the wrong idea about your business.

Set up a call-waiting service so your customer is automatically connected to the first available representative. This also allows you and your staff to put contacts on hold for a period of time if you’re super busy.

Use a Hosted PBX System

A Private Branch Exchange, or PBX, system is like an operator for business phone lines. It connects and manages various extensions throughout a company. This is how automated systems direct your call to the appropriate department when you phone in.

There are two types of PBX systems available: hosted and on-site. A hosted PBX system is primarily handled by the VOIP provider and all of the equipment is in a remote location. An on-site PBX is located somewhere on the business property and requires an active team to manage it.

It’s always better to go with a hosted PBX system as opposed to an on-site one because it’s cheaper and less time-consuming. Not to mention, if you set up an on-site system, you’ll need to hire an IT team to manage it.

Don’t Throw Out Old Hardware

If you’re simply making the switch to VOIP or have old hardware lying around, then don’t toss it. There are analog-to-digital converters that allow traditional LAN phones to work with VOIP services. There are even PBX converters if you already have a PBX system in place.

Don’t waste money picking up brand-new hardware if you don’t have to.

The right phone system will help your small business run smoothly and improve your image.

With the popularity of telecommuting and startup businesses, many people are finding that they no longer need a traditional brick and mortar office with all of the expenses that come with it. Instead, these people are turning to business incubators, a place where people can work with other people and receive the support services, work space, networking opportunities, training, and financial freedom they need to succeed.

Business incubators provide a laundry list of benefits to anyone who joins one; however, they’re extremely beneficial to SMBs who simply don’t have the knowledge, tools, or resources to take their companies to the next level. Check out the five reasons why business incubators are so popular for SMBs.

Work Space

Sometimes your business doesn’t require a brick and mortar office, but working at home or from a coffee shop can become mundane after a while. Business incubators provide coworking space that people find beneficial. These provide a shared working environment that allows people to be surrounded by other individuals and receive all the perks of an office, such as a printer, Wi-Fi, phone, conference rooms, and much more.

Support Services

When SMBs use a business incubator, they can receive support services that would otherwise be unobtainable or too expensive. Instead, you can rely on the other individuals in the business incubator to provide the support services you need, or you and the others can share on the expense of marketing, business insurance, legal, or other services that may be required.

Networking Opportunities

Every successful businessperson knows that networking is essential. With a business incubator, there are so many networking possibilities, which is why they will just continue to grow. Individuals using business incubators have easy access to successful entrepreneurs, financial professionals, or others that can help them boost their business. Plus, many incubators also host events, which provides even more opportunity for networking.

Training

Receiving the right training is important to continue taking your business further. However, sometimes this training can be too expensive or unavailable if trying to secure it on your own. However, with a business incubator, you can have access to training. Sometimes the incubator will provide training for certain topics or programs, or you can feed off the training from the other people you’re working with. Either way, it’s a win-win situation.

Financial Freedom

One of the biggest benefits of a business incubator is that SMBs receive financial freedom. Instead of trying to find the money to spend on rent, and instead of spending money on training, networking, and support services, as well as employee salaries and other business expenses, they receive all of this with a business incubator. This can significantly reduce the amount of money your business will spend, allowing you to either reinvest it back into your business or use it for profits.

The other financial benefit of business incubators is the help in securing future loans. Many incubators have built relationships with people looking to invest in business, and this provides you with an easier way to get connected to those who can provide the financing you need to take your company to the next level.

If you’re a small or medium-sized business, try to find a local business incubator in your area, and use this tool to help your business thrive.

If you were the head of a large enterprise, hiring new staff would probably less of a headache. You would have staff who is well-versed in employment law, recruiting practices, researching candidates, and conducting interviews. These staff members would be able to quickly review all CV, conduct phone screens, and even first interviews. Your role would be to conduct final interviewers, or even to step out of the process entirely, leaving the final hiring decisions to department managers. Unfortunately, as a small business owner, these duties fall solely in your lap.

6 Hiring Tips for Small Business Owners

Things can be especially overwhelming if you are hiring your first employee, or first set of employees. Fortunately, there are a few tips that you can use when you first begin to navigate the hiring process. Hopefully this will make things a bit less daunting.

Prepare a Set of Appropriate and Relevant Interview Questions

It may be tempting to keep things informal by conducting interviews as a casual, conversational, getting to know you session, but this is only asking for trouble. It’s too easy to miss key points if you do not have a list of questions that you plan to ask.

In addition to this, writing out your questions before hand gives you a chance to make sure that you are not asking anything that could get you into trouble. If an interview happens to go too far off topic, you can also use your list of questions to get both yourself and your interviewee back on track.

Re-Read the CV of Any Client You Have Called Back for a Second or Third Interview

You may interview more than a dozen possible hires before you create your short list of callbacks. There’s no possible way to keep track of the relevant information about each of them.

Before you a carry out a second or third interview, take a few minutes to remind yourself of each person’s education, experience, and skills by reading over their resume one last time. You’ll be better prepared and you won’t risk embarrassing yourself by asking irrelevant questions.

Follow Up with All Interviewees

As a matter of personal courtesy, be sure to follow up with everybody that you interviewed, even if it is to express your regrets. Even if they aren’t getting the job, the folks you interviewed will appreciate any feedback that you give them, and simply knowing that they can continue their job search.

If you develop a reputation as an employer who does not let interviewee know that they are no longer being considered, you will likely lose word of mouth references that can be so important when filling new positions.

Value Your Gut Instincts

Hiring a new employee is more involved than simply matching skills, education, and experience with your requirements. You want to hire a person who fits into your little organization and is trustworthy and reliable. You want to work with somebody who is going to thrive in your work environment, get along with others, and demonstrate the passion and hard work that is required when working for a small business.

If you suspect that a potential employee won’t fit into your team, the best thing you can do for all involved is to move on to a candidate is a better fit.

Use Networking in Addition to Posting Positions for Hire

Get word out to your online and offline contacts that you are hiring. You may be very surprised at how quickly candidates come your way via referrals from friends and business contacts. Don’t be afraid to mention that you have openings on social media pages either.

The more avenues you take when reaching out to new hires, the more likely you will be to fill any openings quickly. In fact, many younger job seekers will look for jobs via social media sites more often than they will traditional job sites.

Be Clear and Detailed in Your Job Postings

If you have requirements about which you have no flexibility, make this clear when you write the post advertising your job. In addition to this, if you have specific instructions about how you wish to be contacted, or the format in which you would like to receive the job seekers’ CV, this should also be explicitly stated in the job posting.

Keep in mind that the more clear you are, the less likely you will have to spend time sifting through applicants of candidates who do not meet your requirements. Before you send your job posting off to be published, read it over and over from the perspective of a job seeker. Then, ask yourself if more clarity is in order. If you have a friend or acquaintance that is familiar with all of this, you might see if they will take a look at your job posting for you.

It’s no secret that the Pixar company has a long history of successes. Today’s businesses, both big and small, can learn a thing or two from looking at the ways Pixar has succeeded and even failed. The hard-earned experience of Pixar can be turned into lessons and techniques for enterprises to learn from and adapt to suit their purpose. Below are five adoptable lessons from Pixar.

1. Make sure you’re hiring the right people

If you have a mediocre team, they won’t be able to turn a basic idea into something great. However, if you have a great team working for you, they’ll be able to take the very beginning of an idea and turn it into something amazing. One rule of thumb from Pixar is to hire people who are smarter or more talented than you are. When everyone’s working for the same company and toward the same goals, you’re not hiring a threat, you’re hiring talent that can take the company to the next level. Everybody has unique experiences that they can teach everyone else.

2. Be open to all types of inspiration, from all different places

Everyone at your company should feel free to suggest ideas, whether it’s about how to make administrative activities more streamlined to your app’s enterprise gamification updates. When people aren’t comfortable enough to give you their ideas, you end up missing out on a lot of inspiration that you won’t get from anywhere else. Sometimes the most unexpected sources have the best suggestions; be open to them all. If people are having a hard time being candid, try to figure out why and then fix the problem.

3. Don’t run away from problems

When you carefully craft messaging to downplay issues, you end up looking like a liar or someone who doesn’t care about the company or other people. As a leader, share problems with your team, face them head on, be honest about them and try to come up with good solutions. Talk to your employees about the issues the company is facing. You never know who’s going to have a great idea. The people who deal with the ins and outs of the business often have ways to fix problem areas.

4. Show trust in employees

Tell your employees that you trust them, especially when it comes to moving forward with new ideas. Clarify that by trusting them, you don’t expect them to always succeed. Instead, tell them that you trust them to use their best judgement and do their best. Explain that sometimes failure is inevitable, but that sometimes failing leads to even better, smarter risks in the future. Your employees should know that they have the reigns when it comes to certain projects, but they shouldn’t be afraid of what’s going to happen if they fail.

5. Share the process with the rest of your team, not just the final result

Things can take a long time to come to fruition. Share each step of the way with your employees. It’s important for people to see how ideas go from thoughts to implementation. It’s also good for your employees to see how management handles setbacks. If something isn’t going as planned, you can shift your tactics mid-process to get it onto a better track.

A wise person once said “You are only as good as your tools.” This saying definitely holds water in the business world, where the right tools can increase productivity and improve efficiency and operating procedures. As a small business owner, you should make sure these clever tools are in your company’s toolkit.

Dropbox: Store Documents on the Cloud

Think of Dropbox as the modern-day equivalent of a filing cabinet, an innovative tool which stores a range of files including images, videos, and text documents. Just like a traditional filing cabinet holds documents in cardboard folders, Dropbox uses virtual folders for easy organization. However, its search tool is probably more efficient than your old filing system!

Dropbox uses cloud technology, so you needn’t worry about your documents taking up space on a hard drive, or what might happen if your hardware fails. Dropbox makes your documents accessible from any device, so it’s ideal for small businesses with remote workers. This tool also makes it easy and more eco-friendly for you to share your files with colleagues, clients, or media outlets.

Best of all, basic Dropbox accounts are completely free to use, so they suit those notoriously tight small business budgets. If you need more space for your files, consider upgrading to Dropbox Pro, which has one terabyte of storage space, or Dropbox for Business.

Sage Payment Solutions: Increase Your Payment Options

More than nine out of ten retailers say their customers want a range of payment options, but many stores are reluctant to invest in the necessary infrastructure. With nearly half of retailers noting increased costs for payment technology in the last 18 months, the expense is a significant barrier to adoption. However, online credit card processing options from Sage require no upfront fees, so they’re a great choice for small businesses.

Sage’s handy tool allows you to accept payments from all major credit and debit cards. It also integrates with your existing accounting or ERP software for easy record keeping.

More than half of retailers haven’t adopted new payment technologies because they’re worried about security, but Sage’s Payment Card Industry certification, PIN transaction security, and merchant validation/certification should give you peace of mind. The Sage team also handles things like loss prevention, charge back assistance, and underwriting in house, so there’s less for your small business team to think about.

bMobilized: Make Your Website Mobile

In 2014, Internet use on mobile devices exceeded browsing from personal computers for the first time. This seismic shift reminded business owners of the importance of making their websites mobile-friendly. If you still haven’t developed a mobile site, bMobilized can make the conversion process easy. It’s already created more than 3.2 million mobile sites, and yours could be next.

Its Automatic Content Analysis promises to make your website mobile-ready in mere minutes. If you’re not comfortable with web design, use an existing mobile web template. Or play around with customizable options to make your site more unique. Once you’re done, bMobilized claims your site will look great on more than 14,000 different smartphones and tablets. A 14-day free trial lets you get a feel for the bMobilized tool before committing.

Wistia: Video Marketing Made Easy

Marketing is crucial to the success of any small business. It’s key for creating awareness and generating buzz and brand loyalty. Seven out of ten marketers say that video offers better conversions than any other marketing medium, so it’s understandable that many small businesses are switching on their cameras.

If you’re entering the world of video marketing, Wistia is an essential tool. It’ll host your videos, add buttons to make them shareable and embeddable to improve their reach, and even turn your videos into Flash and HTML5 versions so they’ll reach more consumers. The video heatmaps are a really intriguing feature, as they’ll show you which parts of each video you post get rewatched, where viewers switch off, and much more. Use this information to constantly improve your video marketing campaigns.

With the tools above at your disposal, you can improve a variety of facets of your small business.

For those who have made the leap into self employment, and are starting a business from home, it can be scary to know where to start. Even if you have been working at home for a while, and your business is more developed, you will still need to promote it to stay on top of your game. Promoting your home based business may seem like an overwhelming task, especially if you are working completely alone, however there are many ways you can effectively, and often simply, promote yourself and your business. We share out top 5 promotional secrets for success:

Start a blog

1. The best way of promoting your business to potential customers is to get up front and personal. Sharing your thoughts, opinions, tips, or news through blog content is the perfect way to get started. All you need is a good host, some solid tips and advice, and a unique approach to your content.

Social Media

2. Now that mobile media time is greater than desktop, using free mobile based tools like social media is a great way to reach customers. Social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and others, are the perfect platform for sending your message to the busy butterflies this world has become. Being a social butterfly can certainly pay off in the business world. With the potential of reaching out to millions of users across the globe, social media is a no brainer.

Local Marketing

3. Local marketing is even more important now that search engines have become more advanced. Whether online off offline, it’s crucial to be advertising yourself where your customers want to find you. If you have a website, that means having your NAP (name, address, phone number) details clearly displayed and your business added to popular local directories, such as Yelp and Google Places. If you’re promoting yourself offline, you will want to take a similar approach, placing adverts in local establishments with clear contact details, and passing out business cards and flyers left right and center. Fastprint are perfect if you’re looking for quality custom leaflet flyers at low prices.

Join Local Network

4. Get involved in some local network marketing and advertising. Being famous isn’t just for celebrities and musicians. Network with local newspapers, news stations, magazines and blogs to start your journey to fame. Networking in the right circles can open up many doors, especially if you are available to offer something relevant and interesting in return. Another great way of networking is by exhibiting at trade shows and events. Just make sure you have an eye-catching exhibition stand design to attract potential contacts.

Freebie

5. Everyone loves a freebie. If your business is product based, then offering giveaways and promotions online is a great way of promoting your business. It’s also a great way of enhancing your social media engagement and reach, which will subsequently result in more people becoming aware of your products or services. Offering samples is another great way of promoting your products. Reach out to some influential bloggers or journalists in your area or niche, and offer sample products to test. Not only are you generating more awareness for your business, but you may also get a mention or some press of the back of it. Win win.

There are plenty of ways that you can promote your home business, and these are only just a few. It is not an easy task making ends meet through self-employment, but there is a good chance that if you follow the advice from this article, and use it to inspire you to try out other ways of promoting your business, you can succeed.

What have you been reading this summer? Every person reading this post likely has a different answer. Some prefer lightweight reads in the summer months such as young adult fiction or romance novels. Other prefers historical fiction, political satire, or biographies. Maybe sci-fi and fantasy are more your speed. Whatever you have been reading, hopefully you’ve enjoyed it.

Now, let’s talk about a few books you should be reading as your autumn closes out. When it comes to personal finance books, everybody could use a little bit more information, and a little more education. Whether the authors are giving advice on saving money, living on a budget, or investing, books on personal finance are great additions to anybody’s summer reading list.

This is why we have put together this list of 5 books on personal finance that you should read before the weather turns cold.

Suze Orman has provided insightful financial advice to people for decades. She continues this pattern with “Women and Money”. Suze Orman recognizes that when it comes to money women need both education and empowerment. This book includes a 5 month program that helps women establish financial independence and personal freedom. Many books provide a lot of heady, high level information.

Ms. Orman takes a more practical and relatable approach providing women with specific steps that they can take towards improving their financial situations.

Cary Siegal wrote this book upon realizing that his children and their peers would graduate from high school and college without any formal, personal finance education. In spite of covering 99 principles, this book is quite easy to read and the lessons are conveniently parsed out.

This book targets young adults, but there is valuable advice here for any age group.

Do you have plans and life goals that you have yet to achieve? Maybe you would like to start a business or go back to college. Whatever your plans are, it can be easy to feel stuck where you are, and getting to a place where you have achieved your goals can seem impossible.

This book is a goal-oriented book that gives financial advice that relates to conquering your next challenge. The authors include daily action steps, ways to increase your confidence levels, and practical advice on living in the modern age.

Rich Dad Poor Dad is a book about money lessons learned from two different men and the influence those lessons had on the author. The lessons he learned from the rich dad in the novel gave the author the opportunity to retire before the age of 50. In this book, he passes that knowledge on to others.

Many readers will be surprised to find that what they have been taught about money is completely off base.

Dave Ramsey is a well-known author, financial guru, and a nationally syndicated radio talk show host. Ramsey has a very easy to read writing style, and provides a lot of great practical advice to his readers.

The best endorsement of Ramsey’s is advice is simply the success that his readers and listeners have achieved by following his advice. Many are put off by Ramsey’s tendency to be extreme in his rhetoric, and that is a valid criticism. However, if that can be ignored in favor of focusing on just his financial advice, readers can learn a lot.

You’ve finally reached the end of the grueling journey in creating your first startup. We know the feeling, and we know how good it must feel to be here at the end. But before you start celebrating we need to cover a very important to do. Insurance. Your business needs it. After a grueling process of forming your company, you might have forgotten that you could lose all that hard work in the blink of an eye if you go forward without checking for the proper business insurance quotes. Below you will find business insurance tips that will help your startup stay safe and profitable for years to come.

Key Person Insurance

As a business owner, many people depend on you. Customers and employees alike look to you for leadership and guidance. Your company could suffer if you die without a mechanism in place to replace your expertise. If you have key person insurance, you have the assurance that your business has the means to continue if you or your key employee dies.

Upon death, key person insurance pays a sum to the company that will help the company recruit and train a replacement that can fill the shoes the death empties. When you buy this insurance, your key people will know how much you value them, building a cohesive team that will loyally work to achieve your goals. Vendors and banks also like to know you have key person insurance because it improves the chances your company will pay bills after your demise.

Directors and Officers Professional Liability Insurance

If you formed a corporation, you might need to buy directors and officers professional liability insurance. If you hold a board position, if your board of trustees makes controversial decisions, or if your products or services have the potential of harming people or property, people can sue your business for damages. When you have this type of insurance, your insurer will pay for claims made against you. With so many people in our society looking for ways to gain wealth through litigation, you cannot afford to go without this type of insurance.

General Liability Insurance

Regardless of where your business operates, its facilities represent a potential liability that could destroy it. General liability insurance provides coverage if someone gets hurt while on your premises or if a fire or natural disaster destroys your business property. According to personal injury attorneys, in cases of premises liability, a judge and jury look at several factors when determining if the injured person should receive a settlement, but ultimately a property owner is legally liable for injuries suffered by others on their premises. Your insurance will also cover problems resulting from false advertising, copyright infringement, and other acts that hurt others without bodily injury. You could incur substantial legal and medical costs if one person gets hurt on your business property. So buy insurance with the optional coverage you need to protect your firm.

Workers Compensation Insurance

If an employee gets hurt while working for your company, you could be liable for thousands of dollars of medical expenses. Workers compensation insurance makes sure your employees get the care they need for job-related injuries while protecting you and your company from liability. Laws and regulations where your business operates might mandate that you buy workers compensation insurance. As you shop, keep applicable requirements in mind to make sure you buy coverage that meets your legal and business requirements.

Business insurance for your startup can help your company survive lawsuits, accidents, deaths and other routine occurrences. Although you might face the temptation to avoid buying insurance to save money, the reasonable costs associated with business insurance makes it worthwhile in the end. So don’t think you’re cutting any corners by not getting insurance. What you will be doing is creating more of a headache later on down the road if you skip this very important step.